BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Pagan City or Country Pagan?

Just for fun, I thought I would create a poll to see what we each considered ourselves to be. As you know, there is a stereotype that we all hang out in groves of trees. While some of us do, there are actually urban pagans and those in between.

Country or City Pagan? multiple choice
	I'm the country witch/pagan, etc. If I need herbs or natural tools, I go in my back yard and get them.
	I'm an urbanite all the way. The gods are everywhere. I don't need a tree thank you very much.
	I'm somewhere in between. The current in the city is just as powerful as feeling mother earth's heartbeat in the country.
	I'm stuck where I'm at but my heart belongs ______(insert whatever, i.e. country, big city, cave, etc.;).
	Are you nuts? You wouldn't catch me within 10 feet of where bears live.
Votes accepted starting: 02/23/08 12:55 PM
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I lived in GA for a year, pretty much in the boonies. Though there were urban-y things that we missed, I really enjoyed the solitude and quiet of the house we were renting.

Now that we are back in almost downtown Jacksonville, FL, I feel like it is more difficult to hear Mother Earth through the noise of I-95 which is about 100 feet from my back yard. I love that the beach is not too far though, and there are many lovely, quiet places to drive to. But, I miss having the quiet in my house, which is where I am most of the time...


And, I would love to live somewhere where a bear might wander into my yard!!

I used to live in the mountains here in southern cali. It was wonderful... but to live there now would mean that my hubby would have to commute an hour to work (which actually, he already does... hmmmm) and the kids and I would be that much farther from our friends and family.

We live in a smaller city, which is nice (though there are still two Starbucks here), and I'm only 25 minutes to Barnes and Noble.

I love the quiet of the mountains, but worry that my kids, as they got older, would get bored and end up getting into trouble. Plus, the idea of them getting their driver's license and then driving on that windy road totally freaks me out!

Guess I'll stay where I am for now.

I've always lived somewhere in between the two. Actually, until I was 10, I lived in the country then moved very close to Detroit. I feel much more at peace the further away from the city I get. My grandmother had property in the upper peninsula. It's funny how my brother and I would make fun of it as being "Hicksville," but as we both age, we have much more of an appreciation for our grandmother's love of the country.

I can see that in my own life too Trish. When I was younger, I wanted to leave the mountains any chance I could to go hang with my friends. Now I would LOVE the peace. The only thing that holds me back are my children. I wouldn't want them wanting to get away all the time when they are teens.

Hmmm.... somewhere there is a balance. Somewhere there's a place both of us will love

There is a town very close to my hometown named Hicksville... For real!!

I lived in town as a kid, but it was a small town surrounded by rural area. I always hated it. Looking back, I still wouldn't want to go back, but I do recognize the importance that some of those quiet, "hick" places played in my life.

NW Ohio is just too flat. :p I either need hills or a beach, with the beach being the preference between the two!

Hey Froggie,

You are in Jacksonville, right? So you must be enjoying the beach all the time. I would have a hard time choosing between the beach and the mountains. Where I live, the beaches are so crowded, it's not very pleasant to travel there.

I know I definately prefer the air at the beach to the air in the mountains. Though fresh and invigorating, the mountain air can be a bit too dry for me. Beach air makes my sinuses feel good, and helps to get rid of headaches!

Yeah, I have the beach pretty much all of the time. I'm about 20-25 miles inland, so I don't make it out there as often as I like, but we also have the St. Johns River pretty near us as well. Lots of water, and that's the way I like it!!

you can take the girl out of the country but you cant take the country out of the girl! I was country when country wasnt cool!!

I live in Texas and My aunts and uncles all lived on farms with gardens and animals and all that goes with it! I loved it! I on the other hand cant grow anything but goat heads!

In northwestern Indiana mostly all we have is farms/corn/cows/hogs..and really flat land..It's heaven..Plenty of blue sky and trees..The perfect place for a solitary witch..I've lived in Chicago and all over the place..but my heart is in the country..So I vote country..!! And it's safe to raise kids here..
PS..We don't have "Goat Heads" here..and I think i'm glad..lol!!

lol it is flat here and we have some trees that people planted long ago but there arent really any that grow natureal here its just flat and lots of stickers (Goat heads are like three pronged thorns on a rose bush they are small hard and look like a goat head... we also have sandburs which are like small soft purcupine-ish seed weeds... they are easier to get rid of but not by much!!! and if you step on one it pokes you several times and then you go to pull it out and it stickes to your finger so... they are worse in that respect!)

Moving to the city was the only way I could really embrace this part of who I am and explore it further. I found greater resources and support there than I could have imagined in the semi-rural, narrow-minded town I grew up in.

Manveri,

Welcome. It's true that sometimes getting away to another place is what can bring us closer to our spirituality.

I'm glad you feel better able to express yourself.

Blessings,

hahaha I grew up on a 60 acre wood lot. So when I wanted birch bark or cedar or whatever...I opened the door and went for a little hike.

Information was a few key strokes away online..but the bookstore and everything else was more than close enough to get to while still being surrounded by the trees.

Now I have a little herb patch...mint and rosemary really at the moment. My development is a new one...so the actual lots have short little baby trees, but the development itself is carved out of an old growth pine forest...it makes me feel more at home.

I grew up in southern New Jersey my back yard was the swampy pine barrens, but we traveled alot. ALOT. I have since lived in about 20 different states and maybe 40 different places in those states. Everywhere from Hollywood to Tullahoma(TN). Currently I live in a small city in central Virginia between (about 25 miles either way)two larger cities and a large lake resort in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I live in the county on a county road with fields and woods all around me, but only 5 minutes from a Super Walmart and a half an hour from just about any restaurant or store available in most suburban/urban areas. I like my location. I have always been split between loyalties growing up out in the boonies but so close to Philly and NYC and DH was an army brat born in Okinawa and lived in Boston and went to High School in Hanau,Germany and San Jose, CA. His parents live in a more urban area near Fort Bragg in NC but we would not like it there--too much traffic. But TN was a little TOO FAR out in the country for us. I like being 150 miles from DC. Only drawback for me is being 3 hours from the beach. But we do have the largest lake in VA.

oh yeah I forgot!~~~ one thing I do LOVE about central/southwestern Virginia is all the festivals and faires! You can always find a Celtic or a Pagan Festival in the Springtime and a Renaissance Faire or Harvest Festival in the late Summer/early Fall. And since I am strega it is also important to me that there is a sizable Catholic community here too. (Can always find a great pizza or a decent sub!!!) Many Italians from NY or NJ moved down here after 911, so it has the charm of the south and the grit of the northeast. Culturally it suits me here.

I grew up in a rural area and only recently moved to the city. But the city in which I live is very sprawling, full of trees, and reminds me of home in many ways. I love the quiet, the green, the horizon, the feeling of being alone, the comforting scents of nature... fortunately, there's some of that here.

Anda